Combined desk and seat.



No. 862,131. PATEN'I'ED AUG. 6, 1907.

J. T. BRENT, SECOND. COMBINED DESK AND SEAT.

APPLIOATIOK FILED 1P3 4.1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET amvemtoz [CE/ l 334 Gum/14mg 'nlrmlllus FEl'iRS cm. Wasllmumu, 0. c4

PATENTED AUG.- 6, 1907.

J. T. BRENT, SECOND. COMBINED DESK AND SEAT.

APPLICATION FILED AYE. 4.1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

L\ cg m 1 vb E witnesses map.

OFFICE.

JOHN THOMAS BRENT, SECOND, OF GOLD SPRING, NEW YORK.

COMBINED DESK AND SEAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 6, 1907.

Application filed April 4,1906. Serial N0. 309,731.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN THOMAS BRENT, Second, a citizen of the United States of America, residing and having a post-office address at Cold Spring, county of Putnam, and State of New York, United States of America, have invented new and useful Improvements in a Combined Desk and Seat; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The special object of this invention is to produce a simple economical and efiicient combined desk and seat particularly for school use, and especially in devices wherein-the seat and desk are both adjustable and independently of one another. Certain of my improvements are useful in desks when used alone and in seats when used alone.

In the production of a combined desk and seat according to my present invention, 1 have aimed to produce a structure wherein the desk and the seat-back are out of contact and form no part of each other, though both are a unit in being secured to one or more basemembers.

I have found that, in combined desks and seats as usually made, vibrations or jarring movements are transmitted from the seat-backto the desk behind it, and from the desk to the seat-back. As a result, both scholars are annoyed and the scholar using the desk cannot produce good work. Such vibrations and jarring movements .are, however, rendered unobjectionable when my improvements are employed, and are not transmitted from one scholar to the other.

Referring to the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side view, showing a succession of school desks and seats, all embodying my improvements, and the middle unit being a combined desk and seat; Fig. 2 is a front view of such combined desk and seat; Fig. 3 is a top view thereof; Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate, in side and plan, constructional details of the seat.

Referring to the middle unit of Fig. 1 (and to Figs. 2 and 3), 1 indicates a desk, 2 a seat-back, and 3 indicates a seat. The desk-top (preferably of wood) is indicated at 4, and the back and bottom of the desk are indicated at 5 and 6 respectively. The sides 7, 7 of the desk may be of any construction, but I prefer, as shown in-Fig. 1, to employ grilled or open-work castings. The back 5 and bottom 6 may be of sheet metal. For clamping the back, bottom and sides together, I provide rods 8 (three are shown) which pass through openings in the opposite castings 7. At one end, each rod 8 may carry a head or an enlargement, and be threaded at its opposite end, in which event nuts, fitting the threaded ends, will be employed to clamp the parts into place. The back 5 and bottom 6 will preferably have flanged or beaded edges, with which edges the rods 8 engage, and assure a tight and sure locking of the parts. Where, as shown, both back and bottom engage a single red, the plates may be hinged about said rod.

The desk is adjustable vertically, and for this purpose the side castings 7, 7, are provided with integral tubular parts 9, extending below the bottom 6 of the desk, and each of the tubular parts 9 slidably fits around a'wrought iron upright 11. The lower ends of the tubes are split and clamping devices 10, of a suitable construction are fitted to said split ends, and are employed to lock the desk to and disengage it from the opposite forward uprights 11, below said desk and constituting the supports therefor. Each of the opposite uprights, 11, is rigidly connected with and extends upwardly from a cast base-piece 12 of which there are two spaced apart by a cross-bar 56 (Fig. 2) below the desk. As shown, each base-piece has two legs 13, 14, and these constitute the means whereby the structure is secured to a floor or other base. I prefer thata considerable portion or web of cast metal shall be included between the legs 13 .and 14, to prevent direct transmission of vibrations.

In order to support the seat-members of the structure, each base-piece carries a wrought iron rod 15 extending upwardly from the leg 14, and each of the opposite rods 15 carries a forwardly inclined rod 17, and the rods 17 are connected at their tops and bottoms by the curved cross-rods 18 and 23 (see Fig. 2), and all these parts are in no wise connected with the upper end of the uprights 11 supporting the desk. The inclined bars 17 and cross-bars 18 and 23 constitute the supports for the slats 19 of the seat-back which are secured directly to said cross-bars, and the completed seat-back is, as shown in Fig. 1, out of contact with and forms no part of the desk, and vibrations, jars or blows will not be transmitted from the seat to the desk or from the desk to the seat.

For greater security of the structure and to strengthen and support the seat-back, 1 provide side braces 16 which may, as shown in Fig. 1 connect at their upper ends with the uprights 15 and at their lower ends enter outside sockets in the upper ends of the legs 13 of the base-pieces, or said lower ends may be continued as shown at 85 (Fig. 2) and fit sockets formed in the lower ends of the legs 13, in the latter event transmitting any jars or vibrations of the braces 16 to the lowermost parts of the castings where the metal is dead, owing to being fastened to the floor, and vibrations and shocks will be rendered ml.

The seat may be secured to the uprights 15 in any desired way, but I prefer that said seat shall be adjustably secured to said rods, and also hinged.

Referring to Figs. 1, 4 and 5, it will be seen that each rod 15 may be toothed or otherwise provided with a rack 24 along its front edge, and that each rod carries a bracket 20 having upper and lower forks which surround the rod 15. The upper fork carries'between its jaws, a pinion 21 engaging the rack 24, and'the lower fork carries a locking screw 22; it is obvious that to vertically adjust the brackets, it is necessary only to unlock the screw 22, slide the brackets as desired, and again lock the screw. Each bracket 20 also carries (see Figs. 3, 4 and 5) jaws 25, and a pivot pin or peg-30 passes through said jaws and through one end of a bar 26 freely fitted between the jaws 25. The slats 27 or other cross-members of the seat 3 are secured upon the upper faces of the bars 26, and the rear slat 28 is secured to the rear ends of short bars or brackets 29 which are pivoted on the pins or pegs 30 and the forward ends of which are secured to one of the slats 27.

For strengthening the desk, I may provide (as shown in Fig. 2) an arched bar or bracket 57 secured at its ends to the extensions of the side-castings 7, and

scribed, and further description thereof would be su- Said Fig. 1 also shows (at the extreme perfluous. right) an individual seat, the parts 32, 33, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, and 54 of which are like the parts 2, 3, 4, 15, 17 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 24 heretofore described. The

individual seat has, however, a brace-member 46 which is disposed forwardly of the seat instead of rearwardly thereof. Y

Throughout the specification, 1 have spoken of rods, bars and uprights. Obviously said terms may be used interchangeably, and the parts maybe of any suitable cross-section and either hollow or solid.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a pair of separated metallic basepieees,a forward upright and a rear upright both extending upwardly from each base-piece and unconnected at their upper ends, a desk supported by the upper ends of both forward uprights, a seat-back supported by both rear uprights and tree of the desk, and brace members independently connecting the base-pieces with the rear uprights.

2. In combination, a pair of separated metallic basepieces, a desk and metallic uprights supporting the desk and carried by and above both base-pieces, additional metallic uprights extending upwardly one from each basepiece, a bar connecting the last-named uprights at their" I In combination, oppositelydisposed base-pieces, an upright secured to each base-piece, diagonal brace members directly and independently connecting the base-pieces with the said uprights, across-bar connecting both uprights, a

seat carried by and vertically adjustable with relation to" the both uprights, and a seat-back therefor.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN THOMAS BRENT, SECOND. Witnesses:

.TAMns Sournmm, JACOB G. Sourrmnn. 

